Principles of Molecular Physics. 39 



that Professor Bayma's theory not only fails to include the known 

 force of gravitation, but actually excludes it as something alto- 

 gether impossible — since his supposed or " proved " molecular 

 actions are all that possibly exist in accordance with his funda- 

 mental principles, and these, as we have just seen, do not include 

 the actual force of gravity, but have, as their necessary concomi- 

 tant, an attractive action at considerable distances vastly greater 

 than the actual attraction. Or, if he prefers the other horn of 

 the dilemma and admits the actual force of gravitation, we are 

 then conducted to the inevitable inference that his theory makes 

 no adequate provision for the known molecular attraction, since 

 the molecular attraction deduced from the force of gravity is of an 

 exceedingly small intensity in comparison with the attractive 

 action known to exist. 



The same inference may be extended to the force molecular 

 repulsion, since the actual repulsion is in equilibrium with the 

 attraction at ordinary molecular distances ; and hence the theo- 

 retical repulsion must have an intensity correspondent to that of 

 the theoretical attraction, and therefore be exceedingly small as 

 compared with the actual repulsion. In fact, if I mistake not, 

 the objection here urged saps the foundation of the whole theory 

 developed and maintained with such signal ability by Professor 

 Bayma in his ' Molecular Mechanics.-' To comprehend the full 

 force of this objection, it should be borne in mind that our 

 author maintains that all material elements are mere points, and 

 are either attractive under all circumstances or repulsive under all 

 circumstances, — that the action of each element takes effect upon 

 all other elements according to the law of the inverse squares, and 

 without the least interception by intervening elements, — and 

 that these direct actions of the two classes of elements, attractive 

 and repulsive, are the sole determining cause of all material phe- 

 nomena. It should be added that each " primitive molecule " 

 is conceived to consist of a central attractive portion, and an ex- 

 terior repulsive envelope (each of these being composed of ele- 

 ments separated by finite distances) — and that the "molecular 

 radii " are regarded as " infinitesimal quantities," in comparison 

 with the distance between contiguous molecules at which their 

 effective attraction manifests itself. 



We find in the i Molecular Mechanics • the following funda- 

 mental propositions : " one and the same element A cannot 

 attract the element B and repel another element C when B and 

 C are equally distant from A ;'* and " one and the same element 

 of matter cannot be attractive for one distance and repulsive for 

 another." These are not direct inferences from physical facts, 

 since we recognize among molecular actions precisely the differ- 

 ences which it is here stated cannot have place in the activities 



